Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Balance Keepers
by YammersMcGee
Summary: Balance. Balance dictated all in the land of Destia, it being the force that watched over them as if it were an omnipotent sky daddy. This was until an evil force, awoken from Destia's history tried to cause an imbalance in the world around them. Will our main character, a Piplup thrown into this all with no prior knowledge be able to save the land he knows nothing about?
1. Prologue - The Quiz

_**Welcome!  
This is a portal leading to an entirely new world, a place full of wonder and dreams, where fresh new experiences and adventures await your arrival. A place driven by the passion of its inhabitants, a lot different from the world that you are used to.**_

 _Wh-What? Where am I? Who are you? What is this? What wo-_

 _ **However, the threat of conflict plagues this world… If nothing is done about it then it could lead to catastrophic consequences…**_

 _Wait, threat of conflict… I don't even know where we're going, do you expect me to do something about it!? You still haven't answered where I am! I don't want this!_

 _ **I can understand your distress, but I promise. All will be cleared when you arrive to the destination.**_

 _Why can't it be cleared now!?_

 _ **Now is not the time or the place.**_

 _I… Fine… These better be answered when I get there though…_

 _ **Before you get to your destination however, I must ask you a few questions. These questions will determine how you will arrive to this new world and what form you will possess when you get there. These questions are very important. They determine which form best suits the balance of you and if anything were to happen to cause an imbalance…**_

 _ **The consequences could be insane…**_

 _Is that what's happening then? Did something become imbalanced?_

 _ **All will be explained when you arrive.**_

 _ **Now, without further ado, let us begin the questions. Answers honestly, don't stress out and you will be fine.**_

 _ **Do you prefer working alone or in a group?**_

 _Definitely in a group, I can't stand working alone._

 _ **Why is that?**_

 _I don't know… When I'm alone I can't do anything. I normally understand what I'm told to do and everything, but when I'm alone I just can't seem to work. I can't motivate myself and every time I try I always end up giving up and sleeping or something like that. It's not laziness; it's just not wanting to do that specific task. It's hard to explain…_

 _ **So you wouldn't count yourself as a very independent person?**_

 _I… It's a weird question to answer. Sometimes I can be but it's really only if I have to be. If the choice to work with others is there then I'd take it in a heartbeat, but if I have to do it alone and that's that then I can normally muster up at least some energy to do it. I play it off like I'm a lot more independent than I am though…_

 _ **Does it bother you if people think you're dependent?**_

 _I… I don't know. A little bit because if I'm dependent then that makes me look kinda weak right? I don't like people thinking that I'm weak, but at the same time I don't want them thinking I'm stronger than I am because I'm scared it could lead to something bad._

 _ **I see… You're doing well.**_

 _ **When it comes to friends, family and such, how do you feel about them?**_

 _I need them. They're the thing I thrive off of. Without them, I don't know where I'd be._

 _ **What would you do for someone close to you?**_

 _Anything, really. I don't care about myself that much, I kinda got to the point where I don't care how I am in the end, just as long as I can make them smile then I'm happy. I can put myself through a lot of things for people close to me because in the end it's their smile that brings my happiness to me._

 _ **How do you react in an argument with a friend or family member?**_

 _That… Is a different story. When we argue I just get angry. My temper gets the best of me a lot of the time, and I've gotten used to that. I let my anger take over and I shout back. I don't know I'm doing it. During the argument I'm almost a different person, I don't listen to reason and I stop caring about a lot of things. It's only after that I really sit and regret what I said and that's when reason and sadness comes to me…_

 _ **Do you have trouble controlling that anger?**_

 _Yes. Too much. I don't know what it is but the littlest of things set off a wildfire inside me. Things that I shouldn't care about make me want to start fighting a wall, but the things that are meant to hurt me just bounce off me. It's odd, but yes, I have a lot of trouble controlling it._

 _ **Do you find yourself having to put up with this anger when around people?**_

 _Unless I'm scared of something, not really. It only really comes out when it feels like someone I care about could be… I don't know, taken away? It's not that but I feel like that's the best term for it…_

 _ **Interesting…**_

 _ **One more set of questions. You're nearly finished.**_

 _ **Do you find yourself going out often?**_

 _Not really. I go out when I'm invited to things, but a lot of the time I prefer staying inside._

 _ **Do you ever go out alone?**_

 _Sometimes. Rarely, but sometimes. It depends on my mood. If I'm cheerful then I might go out for something to eat and if I'm angry I might go out to the river but I normally stay inside._

 _ **Why the river specifically?**_

 _The water calms me down. I like going out there and looking at the boats in the distance and the waves look nice. I normally go out in the evening too so I get to see the sun make the waves go really beautiful colours. It's like something you'd see in an artist's imagination._

 _ **Ah. I see.**_

 _ **One final question.**_

 _ **If there is anything you could take out of the world, what would it be?**_

 _I don't know… There's so much to take out, ranging from wars, to disease and so much more… It's a weird question… I guess I'd take out the pointless hatred. I say pointless because it's normally the pointless stuff that leads to the worse things happening, and it would make life so much better for everyone._

 _ **Interesting…**_

 _ **Thank you for answering the questions.**_

 _ **From what I have seen, you seem to be a very… Dependent person.**_

 _ **However, you seem to not know the difference between dependence and weakness. They are not the same thing and that is something you can only learn for yourself. You can't do much on your own and you need a helping hand to get your brain started, but that's okay. I can safely assume that when you have gotten started you can do so many amazing things, but you can't do that on your own. However, you like people to think that you can. You feign independence out of fear of being labelled as weak yet you don't like the thought of someone going along with that mask you wear in case it leads to you one day having to go through something that is too much for you on your own. With all this said, you must understand that it's okay to need to rest on people's shoulders, it's okay to need someone to be there for you as you travel life's endless train journeys and plane rides.**_

 _ **You are capable of great things, I can see it, yet you don't believe it. Perhaps when you stopped caring for yourself you unintentionally stopped believing too. Your future has the potential to shine bright yet you are the only one who can ignite that light. You don't see it and I fear that this is the reason that you always seem so angry. You get angry at the things that threaten you because you're scared that it could take away the only thing you feel like you have, completely forgetting yourself in the process. The reason that your anger has gotten to this level is because you don't have the strength in yourself to stop it. The lack of care for yourself is also the reason for the lack of control.**_

 _ **Taking all of this into mind, I have decided that the form you must possess will also be like this. You wish to be independent and you wear the mask pretty well, but although the people closest to you say they believe you, they value your dependence and work with it. Why do you think that things are so easy with them in the first place?  
Taking all of this into mind, it's a shame that the anger is the drawback of it all. You care so much about everyone else that you forget to care about yourself, which leads to… destructive results. You dislike the hate in the world but the constant hate for everything that threatens you would say otherwise.  
However, it's when you see how beautiful the world can be that you stop and question it all.  
So, a person like you should take the form of… A Piplup.**_

 _Wait, Piplup?!_

 _ **Indeed...**_

 _ **Now, we have everything set, it's time for you to see this world and to leave your mark. I regret to inform you that from here on out you will remember nothing of the past; you will only take in what's in front of you. Be strong, you can do this! Show them all that there is still some beauty in the world, and maybe then you'll be able to find the beauty in yourself too!**_

* * *

Author's Note: This is my first ever upload and I'm kinda nervous about it all in all honesty. Please, any criticism is welcome, appreciated and wanted (in a way I guess XD)  
Thank you for reading :D


	2. Chapter 1: The Joining of Two

A cold blanket of darkness covered the land as cries were heard from all around, pain and fear clear in the voices of all. A few fires littered the filthy field, showing the countless unmoving bodies of Pokémon, each one different from the last. From the sky, this would perhaps be quite a pretty scene, seeing all the fires glow bright in contrast the murky brown mud that was the canvas. However back down on earth it was clear that this was, if not a warzone, hell itself, the destruction of the land around them only aiding to that.

An Exploud sat in what seemed to be a tent that was submerged underground, his eyes closed and his breathing calm. He had done this many times, but this time seemed worse. It was going to go wrong, it was obvious that it would but he seemed to be the only one that realised this. However, he kept his breathing calm and his determination high. If he was going down then he was at least going to take a few of the attackers down with him.

"You ready to go out there again?"

The Exploud opened his eyes and turned, looking at the owner of the voice. An Ambipom stared back at him, a lot different from anyone else in the room. Everyone else looked as bleak as the filthy grey walls around them. None had the cocky smile that the Ambipom did, none had the obvious determination. They all looked like it was their last day on earth and the Exploud couldn't help but agree more with them. He focused his gaze back to the Ambipom and nodded. "To fight for my homeland, I would go out there a thousand times." He replied, his voice just as dark and gravelly as the area outside of the tent. He looked ahead of him and only saw the same grey bleakness that was reflected in everyone's eyes. Everyone's except the Ambipom's.

"You know, you really have to take this with a pinch of salt, the battle's only lost if you give it up." The Ambipom said, trying to sound encouraging but in the end only sounding far too upbeat for the situation. This made the Exploud glare at him, which wasn't an uncommon event. There would be a lot of times when the two would disagree on things, which made people wonder just how the two worked together so well.

"We're in a war; we can't distract ourselves with fake positivity, we need to focus on the battle at hand!" The Exploud countered, making the Ambipom laugh and shake his head in mock disappointment, managing to only anger the Exploud even more. "This needs to be taken se-!" He started, but he was interrupted by a siren wailing. This was their call. It was time. Everyone got up and ran out of the tent, forgetting order and organisation. It was do or die at this point, and everyone was ready for what they believed to be their last battle. With one last glare at the Ambipom (who was grinning back), the Exploud ran outside, ready for war.

As soon as he was outside, the tainted air attacked his nose and mouth like tiny bugs; however the giant purple Pokémon seemed unfazed by it. He ran forward still, waiting for the attacks to start.

All of a sudden the creatures of the darkness started appearing, coming towards them at speeds that would rival an Arcanine's. The creatures all looked like different Pokémon yet they were all dark and twisted, almost decomposing with every breath. Exploud didn't have the time to think about what to do, he just let instincts take over and he soon found himself using Hyper Voice to blast them all back from where they came. He kept this up for a while until they stopped coming. It looked like they had driven them away, but only a fool would start celebrating now. There was no chance that once charge was all that was needed, was there? Minutes passed, feeling like hours when all of a sudden the attack started again. More of the dark creatures flew at them, but this time they were bigger, stronger Pokémon. Pokémon that a simple Hyper Voice wouldn't destroy. This led Exploud to start using stronger moves, Focus Punch being the first move that came to his mind. He was doing a good job of keeping them away until the attacks from the sky happened. Fire, lightning, all of the elements seemed to be brought down upon them as they tried to fend off the attackers. It was hard trying to move out the way of the sky's assault and keep the 3 enemies in front of you off, and some failed to do so only adding to the body count. Exploud was determined to take as many as he could with him and managed to do so until it happened.

Exploud had been keeping the enemies in front of him off of him but it was only when he remembered that the sky was releasing an onslaught that he looked up, to see a raging ball of fire speeding towards him. He closed his eyes, preparing for it all to end when he felt himself get knocked to the side, landing on his arm and yelling in pain. He opened his eyes and looked over to see the Ambipom laying there, the fires hugging his body and his form weak. He looked back at the Exploud and grinned, waving one of his arms and falling to the ground. The Exploud rushed over to the Ambipom and stared, not knowing how to feel. He just felt numb. He fell to his knees and blinked, disbelief flowing through him at the speed of sound. He looked over to where his enemies stood and roared, anger washing over him like a tsunami. He was about to charge at them, before he saw the ground below him steadily light up. He knew what this meant, and closed his eyes, bracing himself for the pain, the last thing him remembering was the grinning face of his former partner.

Darkness took over soon after.

* * *

"Hello! Are you okay?! C'mon, wake up!"

A Cyndaquil was standing over the body of an unconscious Pokémon, a Piplup he thought it was but it was hard to say. Those types of Pokémon weren't from around the area, all that lived there were bug, grass and the occasional fire type like himself. He found this all rather silly though because as it were, the Cyndaquil lived right near a river, meaning that you'd expect some sort of water Pokémon to populate the area but alas, there were none.

"Hello?" The Cyndaquil called once more, giving the penguin a slight push and giving up. He had been trying to wake him for a while and the best thing to a result that he had gotten was a grunt and murmur of words that sounded like "Am… Bi…" but that was it. The Cyndaquil sighed in defeat and took a few steps back, sitting down and looking at the area around him. He hadn't realised how late it had actually gotten, looking around to see that the earth around him wasn't bathed in the brilliant sunlight that it normally was, it was now coated in an amber glow signalling that the sun was setting. This put the Cyndaquil on edge, he knew it was unwise to wander around all alone in the dark but he couldn't stay at home, they had all pushed him off the edge back there.

The Cyndaquil shook his head, trying to shake the bad thoughts off of him like they were fleas, but couldn't help seeing the world around him a somewhat darker light now. He looked down and his back flared up, signalling that the emotions were taking over him. He felt like shouting, and was just about to until he heard a grunting. He looked around and noticed that the Piplup was stirring. He rushed over to it and helped the blue creature up.

"Hey man, are you okay?" The Cyndaquil asked caringly, trying to make sure that the Piplup was okay. He received no only mumbles of gratitude for a while and was taken by surprise when the Piplup all of a sudden jumped back and yelled in shock.

"Y-You're a talking… YOU'RE A TALKING CYNDAQUIL!" Piplup shouted, pointing its trembling wing at the Cyndaquil, the look on his face full of shock and fear. "H-How do I understand you!?"

The Cyndaquil blinked and laughed. "You're… You're joking right? Pokémon can talk to each other, you know that right?" He asked, almost mocking the scared penguin.

"Yes, Pokémon can talk to each other, but I'm a human! I shouldn't be able to understand you, why can I understand you!?" The Piplup shouted confusion and disbelief still painting his little face as if it were their canvas.

The Cyndaquil started laughing, and he kept laughing until he realised that the fear that was written all over the Pokémon's face was legitimate. He stopped laughing slowly and stared back into the Piplup's eyes, noticing that it looked like he wanted to cry. "Dude, you're not a human… Well, not from what I can see. You look like a perfectly normal Pokémon from how I see it. Look for yourself." He said, pointing over to the river that he was following.

The Piplup ran immediately over to the river and looked at it. The reflection terrified him and caused him to jump backwards in horror, scaring him beyond belief. He walked back over to the river and looked into it just to confirm that it wasn't some horrible hallucination that was planted into his mind and his heart sank when he saw the same blue penguin staring back that gazed at him before. He sank down to a sitting position and looked ahead of him, seeing what was in front of him but not quite being able to decipher what it was. "So it's true… I'm a Piplup… But wh-"

"Hah, called it. I knew you were a Piplup." The Cyndaquil interrupted, making the flames on his back shoot up in celebration. Seeing the look of annoyance on the Piplup's face he laughed apologetically. "Sorry, I'm not good with Pokémon names that don't live around here." He said, looking down.

The Piplup turned back to the river and shook his head, but realised that he was smiling. All of a sudden, he was chuckling along with the strange fire type next to him. It took them a while to stop, but it felt to have the warm glow of happiness wash over him as if he was getting into a warm bath. After regaining his focus, he decided to look at his surroundings. It was a typical forest, except there was just something off about the trees. Maybe it was the shade of colour, maybe it was the fact that they seemed a little warped, he couldn't tell. He looked around some more, not finding much of interest and looked ahead of him one last time, his breath almost being taken from him.

The river, that he had managed to ignore for the most part twice before, took over him. The orange glow that reflected off of each and every wave shone as if it were copper that had been polished many times over, making patterns that only the most skilled artist could begin to imagine. It was like the world had put all of its beauty into one stream of water. It was truly breath-taking.

"Hey, you okay?"

The voice shot through his head and startled him, making him jump and turn around. The Piplup realised that the Cyndaquil was looking at him with a concerned expression.

"You just kinda went blank for a few minutes…" The Cyndaquil said, tilting his head.

"Yeah, I-I'm fine… Just accepting that I'm a Piplup I guess… Well done for getting it right by the way." The Piplup said laughing at the look of surprise he got from the Cyndaquil. "So, uh… What's the plan?"

"Well, I think before we start moving, what's your name?" The Cyndaquil asked. "I'm Daniel by the way."

The Piplup sat and thought for a moment. "I… I don't actually remember!" He said, feeling scared and confused again. "I… I really don't know."

"Well… What do you remember?" Daniel asked, patting the Piplup's shoulder comfortingly.

The Piplup sat there trying to rack his brains for anything that he could remember and almost instantly his mind was flooded with screams of pain and fear, regret and the feeling of loss and the horrible memory of looking at what appeared to be a warzone and realising how pretty all the fire looked from above. He looked at Daniel, the screams of pain still ringing in his ears. "I… All I remember is some weird dream of a warzone that I had before you woke me up, but nothing after that." He said, trying to hide his fear of it all. He was relieved to see that it had worked.

"Right… Well in that case, your name from now on is Dagan!" Daniel exclaimed smiling widely and letting his back erupt again.

"Dagan? Why Dagan?" The newly named Dagan asked curiously.

"Well, I read it somewhere and it sounded cool and my name starts with D so we both have names that start with D!"

Dagan laughed and shook his head, looking back at the river after a few seconds and smiling. He didn't know what it was about the water. He watched as the copper turned to a dark red sort of shade, making him look up to see the sky. It seemed to be getting darker, but at a rate that struck him as weird. It felt like time was moving quicker than it should do, like the orange glow should have lasted at least a little longer and the change shouldn't have been almost instantaneous. He didn't have much time to think of this though as he was suddenly startled as Daniel jumped up and yelped.

"We need to get moving and fast; we're not supposed to be out here in the dark!" Daniel said, grabbing the astonished penguin and dragging him along. "Thank Arceus that I found you when I did, it's not ideal to be out alone in the dark, and that's the nicest way I can put it right now."

Dagan found himself being dragged through the forest by someone he had only just met. It was strange though, he had only known Daniel for at most an hour and he already felt like he had made a best friend. He would have tried to see where they were going but everything was a blur, it was amazing that the two of them could maintain this speed. Was it a perk of being a Pokémon? Probably.

They were only running for a little while longer before they stopped outside a giant tree. It was only, when they stopped that Dagan realised how exhausted he was. He was panting and he was sure he would be sweating buckets of water if he had his human body but he seemed to not do that as a Piplup. He looked over at Daniel to see him taking a part of said tree off. Once Dagan had cooled off and was able to think straight, he looked at the tree and realised just how different it looked from the rest of the trees around them. It looked natural, whereas all the other trees that he had seen looked disfigured and horrible. This one looked natural. It looked like a survivor.

"C'mon, we need to get inside." Daniel said, Dagan following him quite quickly. Once they were both inside, Daniel blocked the hole that he had made in the tree up again, shrouding them in total darkness. Dagan found himself in a weird sensation, not being able to see his wing in front of his face. He then wondered if he could actually reach his face with his wing and chuckled, before Daniel's back erupted once more, it calming down to only a glow in a matter of seconds.

"We have about enough time to eat something, and I imagine that you're starving right about now." The fire mole said to Dagan, his stomach rumbling as if it were a comedy show.

They both ate in silence, perhaps forced into silence by how exhausted the two of them were. It wasn't a particularly massive meal, only an apple and a few berries (each of which made Dagan feel either cold or healthy) and they both laid down where they were sitting.

"It's weird, I've never heard of a human turning to a Pokémon before." Daniel's voice said from somewhere next to Dagan. "It honestly is a strange thing to be told, and I hope you understand that, at least at the minute, I'm a bit sceptical of this whole ordeal. It sounds like a lot to believe, especially since I only just met you, but the look of fear on your face when you were saying it… I don't know, I can't help but wonder if maybe you were actually a human, Dagan…"

Dagan sat there in silence, not knowing what to do or say. Daniel was right, it was a lot to ask someone to believe, that you randomly just turned from a human to a Pokémon. It had only just hit him how sketchy and suspicious it all sounded, but he appreciated that Daniel could at least consider believing him.

"You say you remember nothing as well? Well, Pokémon don't normally just wake up and forget everything about themselves, so either you hit your head hard or maybe that's the side effects of becoming the transformation? As I said, it's a lot to believe but you don't seem evil and it all just fits in my mind. You got transformed into a Pokémon and your memory's gone because maybe you have to go on some quest to help the world out or something, just like all the old stories say. Well, whatever your tale is, I wanna make sure that you at least get to remember who you are. It may not mean much, but I'm gonna make sure you get your memory back!" Daniel added the determination clear in his voice, no matter how much fatigue tried to contaminate it.

Dagan felt a warm, fuzzy feeling erupt inside his stomach. He all of a sudden felt a large surge of affection for the Pokémon laying somewhere to his left. Without even knowing him, he had saved him from whatever creatures of the night were out there, had fed him and kept him warm and had now promised that he would help him get his past back. He didn't know what to say. Perhaps happiness had overcome him, or maybe he was just so tired that the words were incapable of coming to his head. It took him a while, but he finally figured out what he would tell his new best friend. "Thanks. Honestly, thank you so much. I can't tell you how much this means to me, but thank you." He said, sniffing a bit.

By the light snoring from the other side of the tree it was clear that Daniel had fallen asleep before he could finish, which frustrated yet amused Dagan a little. He rolled over and sure enough, the warm embraces of sleep took him into its grasp once again.

* * *

Author's Note: I know, this chapter is kinda short and don't worry, I plan to make Chapters at least a bit longer than this, but here it is. Chapter 1. As always, any criticisms are welcome, because after all it's how I get better :D  
Hope you enjoy the story!


	3. Chapter 2: The Void Woods

The sounds of hisses and screeches plagued Dagan's mind again as he felt his eyes flutter open slowly. He looked around, seeing only distorted patterns gazing back at him, being twisted and turned by the darkness that smothered him. He felt his heart pounding in his tiny throat and he felt a cold slug crawling up his back, leaving a trail of ice behind it. He laid there for a while and realised that the screams sounded horrifically familiar. All of a sudden, it came to him. It sounded like the screams in his dream, the sounds that the demented horrible Pokémon made when they attacked. In his tired state, Dagan blamed this on the aftermath of the dream, of it staying with him for a while and he curled up to go back to sleep. Besides, there was no way creatures like that could be real, right?

After only a few minutes he felt something prodding his back. It was different from the chill that had made left the line. It felt warm and friendly, yet there was some urgency to it as it sped up. It slowly started to irritate him as he realised he may not be able to get back to the happy unconsciousness of sleep.

"Come on, wake up, you need to wake up."

Daniel's whispers cut through the darkness as if it was a scream in silence, making Dagan open his eyes immediately. Daniel's voice felt urgent and panic-stricken. He didn't know if it was just him but the hisses and screams had begun to sound a lot realer. He nodded to make sure that Daniel knew he was awake and he felt movement in front of him. Through the thick sheet of darkness that covered his eyes he could see what looked like Daniel's small figure standing in a crouched position.

"Quick, down here!"

Dagan had only just about got to his feet too when Daniel started half-dragging him somewhere again. He couldn't directly see where they were going, only a blur of black all around him. He felt them go down a slope, one that he had obviously not realised when it was light, and after a short while the demented patterns that were made by the tree were replaced by that of a murky coloured dirt. The darkness around him began to settle in, yet the hisses and screeches were still fresh in his small ears and seemed to be eating away at his sanity bit by bit.

After what seemed like an eternity, they stopped. They were both bent over, panting as if they had been running for days, Daniel falling to his knees due to exhaustion. Dagan didn't know what was going on; he thought the horrible noises were only a dream. There was no way that something like those things that he saw in his dream could ever be real. The mere thought of the damned things sent shivers down his spine and made him want to curl up in a friendly corner. He looked at Daniel, who looked absolutely terrified.

"What is go-"

"SSSH!"

Dagan was barely able to get his third word out before Daniel silenced him. He frowned and felt the tiniest spark of annoyance shine through the darkness that was his fear. He opened his mouth to retort but something in his mind told him that it would be for nothing. He sat down and tried to see where he was but he could only see shapeshifting masses all around. He would have listened for anything as well but the only thing that his ears would pick up was the horrible noise that made him want to cry. Not knowing what to do, he curled up on the rough floor below him, feeling horribly uncomfortable as rocks dug into his skin and feathers. After getting in a position that was as comfortable as Dagan felt he was going to get, he steeled his nerves and listened for the strange hissing again. It was only in this state that he realised how similar to acid it sounded, only more violent and constant. He shivered, covering his ears the best he could to drown the noise out again. He hated it, it sounded so twisted, so evil; it was something Dagan was sure could have been used for torture. Fortunately, it wasn't long until the hissing started to fade and sound distant, to his delight. He wanted to celebrate, but even the thought of it sounded stupid in his head.

"I think we're in the clear now."

Daniel's whisper sounded from somewhere behind him and the room suddenly lit up due to the fires that had burst to life on the fire mole's back. After adjusting his eyes to the new light, Dagan was able to see that they were in some sort of tiny cave. He could see the cold grey earth around them, tinted amber as the loving light embraced the room. At the furthest end of the room he could see a ladder, leading seemingly nowhere as it just led up to the browning ceiling above them. He turned to face Daniel and winced slightly as the light temporarily stole his vision.

"What just happened?" Dagan asked, realising his voice was filled with a lot more confusion and fear than he had intended it too. It made him realise that, although the warm touch of fire had taken him, the waves of relief hadn't washed away the fear just yet. He was confused, he didn't know what was going on and he wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to know what had gone on either.

"We got away, we escaped them, we did it." Daniel said giggling nervously as the words spilled out of his mouth, obviously relieved and comforted. "We're so lucky, oh my Arceus…" The happiness was almost leaking out of him, he sounded so relaxed. It was like he was on top of the world, and all for getting away from some creepy Pokémon.

"Why? What would have happened? What's so wrong about them?" Dagan asked, feeling the fear creep into his voice yet again. He didn't understand what could be so horrible. As far as he could tell they were just normal Pokémon that were corrupted or something.

Daniel laughed nervously and looked at Dagan. It was a hard serious look, one that made Dagan realise just how little of this world he knew. "You really aren't a Pokémon are you? Well, I've only heard stories about them, but from I do know, they-"

What exactly they did do, Dagan didn't get to hear as he saw the most horrifying look of fear he had ever seen take over his friend's face. Every little hair on the poor Cyndaquil seemed to stand on end at whatever he was staring at, and it made Dagan feel icy. He was just about to ask what happened before he found himself jumping out of the way of nothing. He didn't know why he had done so until he saw fire shoot from Daniel's mouth. Dagan had to shield his eyes as everything around him seemed to move in slow motion. Seconds that were comparable to hours passed as he finally found himself hitting the cold hard floor. On contact he immediately rolled over to see what the flames were getting aimed at, and upon seeing it he realised why Daniel was so scared. Standing in the same room as them was a Luxio; it was too horrific to be classed as one. Instead of being blue, the creature was a deep shade of purple. The thing looked like it was melting. It was missing large chunks of fur and one of its eyes seemed to be rolling back into its socket. Its movements were unnatural and it looked like it was about to fall apart. Dagan had just enough time to scramble over to Daniel before the creature fell back and looked up. Out of nowhere the familiar hiss filled the room, the deafening sound filling Dagan's very soul with darkness. To his horror, the room steadily started to fill with the horrifying things. Upon seeing the nightmare around them, Dagan threw up on the floor, what little he did eat earlier bursting from him as if he was a volcano. He looked over at Daniel, his now tear-stained eyes blurring the image of his fiery friend. He looked ahead and saw that they had all stopped circling them. He couldn't make out any specific Pokémon, all just blurred zombies of what the originals might have been. He closed his eyes as he felt the ground shake beneath him, signalling that they had started advancing on them. It was too much, it was over, there was no chance of either of them making it out now. He had put his head down and prepared for the onslaught. Panic ran through Dagan as he opened his beak to scream, but when he did an odd sound came from it instead of the shriek he had hoped for. It sounded like something majestic, and before he had time to open his eyes a flash of bright light blinded him from the cosy darkness that his eyelids produced. He sank to one knee, rubbing his eyes frantically, almost forgetting the situation he was in. He was dazed; he didn't have a clue about what was going on anymore. One minute they were fine, then the ghost thing was in the room, then there were loads of them and then a flash of light happened and now what? It was all so confusing to Dagan. He waited a few minutes, preparing for the bloodbath to actually happen and was shocked when he opened his eyes to see nothing. He looked around and saw only the steaming forms all of his former attackers. He looked at Daniel and laughed. "What just happened?"

Daniel, who had still been cowering at that stage, looked up and around at everything around them. He looked at Dagan in shock and shook his head. "I don't know what the heck happened. All I remember was a flash of light and some kind of roar that sounded like the gods shouted from above…" He replied panting slightly as he steadily began to comprehend it all. He suddenly jumped up and pointed at the ladder. "We have to get moving, now, this is the perfect chance to get away from them." He said urgently, running toward the ladder. Dagan nodded and rushed over to the ladder. He placed his wings on the spokes of the wooden barrier and, after a few tries, realised that he couldn't get a grip on it at all. He looked up at Daniel, who responded by reaching down to grab Dagan. It took them a few desperate minutes, but the finally managed to escape the home that had been turned to a hell.

Fresh air tore into Dagan's lungs as he found himself in the same twisted forest again. He could see that the trees only looked more twisted in the night. He looked up at the cold blanket of black above them and took a moment to admire the stars that formed a beautiful cloud of miniature lights above them. He realised that he was taking deep breaths, and just how quickly the scene beforehand had passed him. He remembered it all in a flash, seeing the twisted creature, then seeing that there were a lot of them, then… He didn't know what it was. Something happened. He remembered closing his eyes and filling up with panic and then a bright light filled the room and then they were all on the floor, leaving off at where he was now. He sat down and looked at Daniel, who was also regaining breath, and opened his mouth.

"What was that?" Daniel asked before Dagan could say anything. He sounded exhausted yet terrified, and Dagan only just realised that the Cyndaquil was shaking like mad. They had known each other for just over half a day yet Dagan felt like he had seen more emotions from Daniel then most friends would see in their life. Despite everything that had gone on in the last hour, a small feeling of warmth and affection erupted in Dagan as he glowed at the thought of it.

"I… I don't know. Why? Isn't it a normal thing?" Dagan asked, confused. He had hoped that he could just say he panicked and it was his reflexes making him use a move like Bide or something. He tried to remember what exactly happened but he was met with a sharp pain somewhere in his head, making him rub his head and gasp.

"You alright dude?" Daniel asked, walking over to Dagan and rubbing his back. He sounded like he was getting worse by the minute and looked up at the stars himself. "Do you think we'll be able to start making a move soon?" He wanted to rush, to get away from it before the dark monsters came back to haunt them again.

Dagan looked up and nodded, rubbing his head one last time. It felt like something had lodged itself in his head, almost like a bullet, but he didn't know what it was. He closed his eyes and tried to remember it, but the only thing that came to his mind was the image of that Luxio, it looking familiar from somewhere… He didn't know where but he knew he had seen that thing somewhere else, somewhere before that, but something in his mind was blocking him. It frustrated him; the feeling of remembering this Luxio was bothering beyond all belief, but no matter how hard he tried to remember there was no memory that he could think of where that Pokémon would come to his head. He sighed and looked up at Daniel, seeing how worried he looked. He still didn't get it, they had only known each other for at most 12 hours, but this Cyndaquil cared for him so much. He didn't understand it one bit, but that didn't mean he didn't appreciate it. "I-I'm fine now, let's get going." Dagan said, finally finding the words he wanted to say.

Daniel nodded, taking Dagan's wing and swiftly leading him deeper into the forest. As Dagan looked around he saw that the trees began to look even more dead and twisted the further they went. It was like going into nature's cemetery, only all of the bodies had gotten up and frozen in time, destined to scare the travellers in the night. He looked up, only getting more scared as the black sky seemed to get steadily blacker and sinister as they went in, the stars in the sky eventually appearing to give no light whatsoever. He looked back at Daniel to see that he was sweating like mad, regardless of the cold night. He could see that he was shaking as well, only making Dagan lose his prior frustration to fear. After a night like this he could honestly say that he was used to the constant switches between the flames of anger and the coldness of despair. After a while of silence, the hisses began to sound again, signalling that their hunters had awoken from their silence. This only made the pair move faster to wherever it was they were going.

"You say you know that you thought that was a Pokémon move. I'm guessing that means you don't know how to use any?" Daniel asked quietly, trying to distract them from the distant hissing in the darkness.

Dagan couldn't help but rub the back of his head awkwardly before answering. "Not… really… No, I don't know how to do anything." He said, feeling somewhat guilty.

Daniel nodded and kept walking, shaking and thinking about their options. After a while, they reached a point in the forest that was practically hidden by fog and mist. This confused Dagan; he looked behind him and saw that there was absolutely no fog. Just darkness. However when he turned back to this portion of the forest that Daniel had lead them to, he saw nothing but the cloud of grey that blocked his view like a building did light. He looked at Daniel questioningly, tilting his head. "What is that?" He asked, bewildered.

Daniel smirked, turning to Dagan. "That is a mystery dungeon." He said. "It's the only chance we have of escape." He added, almost sounding proud of himself for thinking of it.

Dagan looked back at the fog and squinted, trying to make something out in the block of colour, but alas, he couldn't. He wanted to ask further, but he looked back and heard that the hissing was gradually getting louder. He turned to Daniel, just in time to see him grabbing his wing and pulling him into the fog. He opened his mouth to yell in surprise, but had no time to make the noise out as his vision was taken from him and silence met his ears. It was almost like he was asleep, but he was conscious the whole we through, until he heard a crunch.

 **Void Woods F1**

The purple glow of the forest faded into view as Dagan regained his vision. It took him a few moments of blinking and rubbing his eyes before he fully gained control of what he was looking at. He looked around, not hearing even the faintest shadow of that horrible hissing sound. As his gaze scanned the area around him, he saw that the space between the trees seemed non-existent. All of the trees seemed to form walls around them, trapping them in. He saw that in the distance there were paths leading out of the room, but this all still confused him. He looked behind him to see that the mist had gone and instead it was just a wall of the thick, purple, twisted trees. He looked around for Daniel and saw him only a few feet away. Daniel seemed to be looking around too, but the difference between them was Daniel was relatively relieved, Dagan was just confused. "What's going on? Where are we?" Dagan asked, not knowing how to feel. Were the monsters still a problem or was it all fine now? He remembered that Daniel had mentioned the term 'Mystery Dungeon' beforehand, but for the life of him he didn't know what one of those were.

"Well, as I said before, we're in a Mystery Dungeon. It's the only way to get away from those horrible things at this point. I didn't want to do it but it's our only hope, I think we can get past this in no time." Daniel said, feigning happiness. Dagan could tell that Daniel was trying his hardest to keep upbeat, and he couldn't help but admire that.

"What exactly is a Mystery Dungeon?" Dagan asked, looking around at the place to see if he could see anything else. He realised that the grey mist had also gone and had been replaced with a purple mist that seemed to hang over them like a cloud. It wasn't too thick, so Dagan could see the sky and was shocked to see that it looked like a glowing orange planet seemed to be quite close to them. "And what the hell is that!?" He asked, sounding shocked.

"That's a planet." Daniel deadpanned, making Dagan snigger. "In all honesty, I don't know what that is; I've never really tried to investigate what a mystery dungeon is. However, I do know some things. I know that a mystery dungeon is something weird; it's almost like a completely different dimension. The rules here are weird too. No dungeon is the same. We could complete this and enter it again and it would almost be like a completely new place. They also seem to have an effect on the Pokémon living in the area, it turns them completely wild! It's a shame, but apparently you have to beat them up to get past them otherwise they'll beat you." Daniel said, looking down and sighing. "I wish there was a different way of doing it, it's not the Pokémon's fault that they're like that."

Dagan nodded and looked behind them. "What stops the shadow things from coming in here and getting us?" He asked, the thought making him feel somewhat anxious.

"The dungeon would completely change on them. It would either block them out or lock us in until they get out; it's a 50:50 chance." Daniel said, shivering. "However, I don't wanna wait around to find out how lucky we are. "

Dagan nodded and looked at the three paths. He absent-mindedly started walking to the first path on the right, getting startled when Daniel started following him. He couldn't help wonder why he was leading all of a sudden. He had no clue how to fight, navigate or even be a proper Piplup, yet this Cyndaquil trusted him even through that. He felt a warm feeling fight off the coldness that the area around him had forced upon him. "Hey, what are we even looking for?" He asked, turning to Daniel.

"Well, we're looking for some kind of exit. A staircase, I think. I don't remember, I've only ever been in this one once and that was because I was playing hide and seek with my brother and thought I'd be a genius and hide in the fog… Long story short, I had to wait an hour for a rescue team to come and get me, and it wasn't fun at all." Daniel said, laughing as they walked down the path.

Dagan chuckled and led them down the pathway, seeing the same twisted trees and getting used to the dim purple light. He noticed that after spending so long being surrounded by all this, he found that the trees didn't look so scary anymore. Just like regular old trees. He shook his head and mentally laughed at himself. Why was he paying so much attention to the damn trees?

"Look, over there, that's what we're looking for!" Daniel said, startling Dagan. They started walking over to where he had pointed and saw a plain grey staircase leading upwards into a cloud of the same mist. They walked up it and found themselves being thrust through the same blackness as before.

Simultaneously, the two had the odd thought that they might have had to get used to that.

 **Void Woods F2**

Dagan found himself standing in a new forest area again, looking around to find that he was in a completely different room. He looked at Daniel who seemed to be looking more like himself than he had done in a while. Dagan looked around to see that there was only one pathway leading out of the slightly smaller room this time. He began to walk forward, Daniel close behind him.

"I still don't exactly understand what those shadow things are…" Dagan said, remembering how last time they talked about them they got ambushed. He turned around to face Daniel and slowed down, tilting his head inquiringly.

"As I was saying before, I don't know much about them. I can only go by what I've heard and theorised. It's something that we're not allowed to study in my village because we're scared of influencing anyone." Daniel said, making Dagan think. "From what I've heard, those shadows are caused by an imbalance of the world's power. When one source of energy starts producing more than the other it needs to discharge it into the world and that causes places to surge with said power. From what I've heard, that in itself is harmless to Pokémon; it just means that certain spots in the land have much more power than they should do." Daniel explained, making Dagan tilt his head. "If it's harmless then what does that have to do with all the monsters?" Dagan asked innocently, not understanding the significance of it all. "Hold on I'm getting there!" Daniel snapped, getting more into the story as he explained it himself. "Anyway, all of this power is stored in specific places. This has led to some wiser Pokémon taking that power and using it for themselves. According to what I've heard, long ago a band of four Pokémon found all of the locations where the power was stored and went mad because of it. They started wanting to create a better world, so they used all this power to force loads of Pokémon to eradicate the world. These shadows are called "The Perfect Race" in the books that are written about them apparently." He said, making Dagan snort. There was nothing perfect about them. They were hideous, and they didn't even seem that strong. It was just the noise they made that got to him. He remembered the hissing sound, making him cringe as he stared into the purple leaves of the tree. Daniel waited for a moment before continuing his story. "As legend goes, the Pokémon that started the mess ended up going mad and killing each other and the race died with them. No one really knows why they're here now, but we do know that they don't really attack populated areas. More just areas that might have people wandering around them." Daniel said, finishing his story.

Dagan thought for a moment, trying to piece together what he could. "So, there were four Pokémon that wanted a new world, and they made Pokémon go evil so they could do that, but they ended up killing themselves in the end because they went mad?" He asked, blinking and trying to wrap his mind around what he had been told. It sounded ludicrous to him, and he was left even more confused when he got answered with a nod. He stared at the ground and began walking, not caring about the direction. He took notice of the floor, the dirt appearing black, stones appearing every few meters. Stray leaves and twigs were on the edge of the pathways giving the illusion that this had been like it was for a long while.

He carried on his walking before colliding with something prickly, jumping back and looking at what was in front of him cautiously. Snapping back into reality, he realised that he had just bumped into what he presumed to be a Weedle.

"S-Sorry…" Dagan mumbled before he found a dart being shot at his head. It hit him and he fell backwards, scrambling up and rubbing his face. "Hey!" He shouted, hoping that the stinging would go away. The Weedle began to advance on him aggressively, spitting and shooting more darts at him, it's messy bristles giving it a feral look; only being further shown by the wildness in its eyes. Dagan bounced back and looked at Daniel. "It attacked me!" He exclaimed, bewildered.

Daniel nodded and pointed at it. "Attack it back then." He said, not sounding too worried.

Dagan turned back to it and opened his beak, expecting something to happen. "Nothing's happening!" He said, worriedly. He thought he was gonna end up getting killed or something. He ran back to Daniel and waited for him to do something.

Daniel sighed and walked over to the Weedle, who had stopped attacking and was watching them with a confused expression, making his back erupt in flames and going on all fours. The Weedle didn't have time to react as the flames spurted out of the Cyndaquil's mouth, burning the orange caterpillar. He stopped when he heard a thud, signifying that it had fallen to the floor.

Dagan walked over to the Weedle and poked it, realising that it was still breathing. He looked back at Daniel, his eyes filled with curiosity. "How do you do that? How can you use your moves?" He asked, carrying on in the direction that they had been walking in.

"It's not as hard as you think. You can either let your mind take over and do it all for you, or you can do something else." Daniel said. "The second method involves you getting to be one with your type. You're a Piplup, so you'd be a water type. You need to come to terms with that in your mind, stay calm and collected, maybe imagine a body of water and sit with that in your mind for a while. Once you've come to terms with it you'll be able to manipulate it in your mind. Make it form the move you want to use and bam, you'll use it." He finished, rubbing a bit of dirt out of the fur on his stomach. "Oh, and moves like pound are easy; just hit the Pokémon and it should do what it's supposed to do." He added hastily.

Dagan smiled and carried on walking. "You're pretty smart, you know quite a bit about this stuff."

"W-Well… Th-Thanks, I guess." Daniel said, being caught off guard with that second compliment. "It's nothing special, the move stuff is just natural knowledge…" He muttered, not knowing if he was heard.

Dagan walked on, a slight smile forming on his face. He looked down at his new body, not taking the time to appreciate it. He saw that he was fairly dirty, his feathers being stained with mud and dirt from all of the running and lying down on the floor he had been doing. He got the thought that without them he'd probably be cold and wondered if he would be cold in his human body. He shook his head and thought about how he had gotten used to this body quite quickly. It was as if he was always a Piplup, or maybe it was because he had to act on his feet so many times in the last 24 hours it had sped up the time it would normally take to get used to the body.

"Hey look, the stairs are right there!" Daniel said, pointing in front of Dagan as he realised that the penguin wasn't paying attention.

Dagan looked up and grinned, nodding in thanks and leading them to the holy escape route.  
There couldn't be many more floors to do now, surely.

 **Void Woods F3**

Dagan found himself on the floor again, but he didn't think much of it anymore. He had quickly gotten used to this and stood up, leading the pair down a pathway on the left again. He wanted to get out of the woods quickly, the trees were only getting more and more messed up and even the floor started to give the impression that it was dying too. It was starting to get to him. The silence that was around them wasn't helping much either.

"So, why were you out there alone?" Dagan asked, trying to strike conversation to end the pressing silence. "Out of curiosity of course." He added quickly.

"It's… It's a weird story. My family and I had an argument, and well… I don't really wanna talk much about it right now. I feel like we have more urgent cases to be worrying about." Daniel said his voice sounding forced. It was clear he didn't want to talk about it and although Dagan was curious, he decided to respect his friend's wishes.

"Are you going back to them after this?" Dagan asked, and was shocked to see Daniel shake his head.

"Not after what I said. It's not a matter of them not accepting me, more for my own good." Daniel replied, his back setting alight all of a sudden. "Why would I go back? They never listen! I don't even know what I've done wrong, I try so hard and all of a sudden I've done something I didn't even know I did that made them want to ignore me and hate me! It's hard having to live in a household like that! It's ironic too, they named me Daniel because they wanted to remember a dead relative, and now I'm the one that's forgotten…" Daniel's voice was filled with hatred, he sounded so scathing and disgusted at the people that had given birth to him. It surprised Dagan; he didn't think that this could happen in the Pokémon world. Was this common or was it only Daniel that it happened to?

He outstretched his wing to pat Daniel on the back but Daniel moved away before he could make contact. He didn't know what to say. He wasn't used to this sort of scenario, he didn't know whether to comfort him or whether to insult his family too. He looked at Daniel and sighed, noting that his fiery friend was susceptible to his emotions taking over at the worst of times.

"I'm sorry that things are like this, but whether this helps or not, I appreciate ya. I mean hell, without you I'd be one of those zombie things, I can't be grateful enough. Thank you. I think you're pretty awesome." Dagan said, gratitude lacing his voice. He didn't realise how much that the Cyndaquil had already done for him in less than 24 hours, and it only really hit him when it came out of his beak. He looked over at his blue and yellow friend, taking note of the way that he stood. It was hunched over, but it didn't seem like the natural kind. It was like that kid who was always bullied, he didn't look very intimidating anyway and that just didn't help it out. His fur was well kept though, or at least showed signs of it. The only visible dirt marks and unkempt patches were caused by the day that they had both suffered from. It was a weird contrast to the messy, dead, decaying forest that they were in.

All of a sudden, something hit Dagan in the back of the head, making him fall on his face. Daniel erupted into laughter as Dagan got up and turned around to see a Pidgey angrily staring at him. Its feathers were all ruffled and it was filthy, its eyes mirroring the expression that the Weedle before had. Dagan looked at it and looked back at Daniel, remembering what he had said before. He turned to the bird and thought. How could he become one with water? He didn't get it, and what did he mean by a body of water? He couldn't remember one, had he even seen one?

Out of nowhere the feeling of peace came over him. He was relaxed, he was at ease. He didn't feel like anything could go wrong. He remembered the sun shining off of waves, creating a scene that even the most creative being in the world would gaze at and get attached to instantly. The contrast of blues and ambers creating such a beauty that he wished it were printed onto his eyebrows. He remembered the soothing sound of waves lapping against the bank; the taste of freshness, and then it came to him. The river! It was the first thing he saw when he woke up, how could he forget?

Snapping back into reality he noticed that the bird was flying at it again, narrowly missing him because he jumped to the side. He glared at the Pidgey and realised he had to act. He put the enchanting sight back in his mind and imagined bubbles coming out from the river. He realised that a stream of bubbles had shot out of his mouth, shooting straight at the bird and knocking him out of the air. Dagan stopped the bubbles and ran over to the Pokémon as it crashed to the ground, pulling his head back and pecking at it, shooting the poor bird across the ground and into the dense woods. He stood there panting for a minute, not being able understand what he had done straight away. He turned back to Daniel and jumped up in the air.

"I did it!" Dagan squealed with delight, making Daniel laugh and cheer for him. He was overtaken by joy, and he didn't even exactly know why. It wasn't like it was a massive achievement; he just shot bubbles at a bird. It made him momentarily forget about why they were there, and once it all came back to him he stopped celebrating and looked at Daniel. "But we should probably move, those weird creatures could be close right now."

Daniel nodded, remembering the point of this all too. "Yeah… We can celebrate it all later." He said, letting Dagan lead them again.

After a while they found the last set of stairs, it only being a corridor away. This last part of the journey was done in mainly silence, the only chatter being whether a rock was the stairs or not. They walked over to the stairs, exiting the dungeon, unaware that a much worse scenario awaited them on the other side.

* * *

 _I'm sorry for the wait for an update to the story, I tried to keep it consistent but I have been busy with school and other life problems. I'm on holiday now so I should be able to work on it a bit more but it's just a matter of not being lazy (which if you didn't know, I'm quite lazy)._

 _I also have to apologise if this chapter isn't the best I've produced. It isn't something I like in all honesty but I was given the green light to post it and I'm scared that if I add anything to it I'll be stealing things off of the fanfic that inspired me to write this one, and I want to keep this at least semi-original. I'm sorry if this chapter is quite lack-luster and I'm open to any form of criticism that you can give me.  
Thank you for reading yet another addition to my story and I hope you enjoyed it.  
I'm open to any criticism and I hope you have a nice day. _


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